Methods and Systems for Managing Vapor Distribution

ABSTRACT

Provided are systems, methods, and vapor devices for providing customized vapor to a user. A customized vapor may ensure a particular flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of a vapor, or assist to reduce and/or eliminate substance dependency of a user, such as a nicotine or a cannabis dependency.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.62/686,639 filed Jun. 18, 2018 and to U.S. Provisional Application No.62/778,762, filed Dec. 12, 2018, both of which are herein incorporatedby reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Vapor devices (e.g., cigarettes, pipes, modified vapor devices, etc.)are used as an alternative to personal smoking, such as via cannabis,cigarette, hookah, cigar, and/or similar use. Vapor devices distribute avapor to a user that may be inhaled. The vapor may have a flavor and/orchemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol,cannabigerol, etc.) concentration that is unmanaged, such that users mayinhale a vapor with a flavor and/or chemical concentration that isundesirable to the user. A flavor and/or chemical concentration that isundesirable to the user may include a flavor and/or chemical that is toostrong or too weak for the user to obtain a desired effect, such as asubstance (e.g., nicotine, cannabis, etc.) consumption managementeffect, physiological effect, psychological effect, social effect,and/or the like.

SUMMARY

It is to be understood that both the following general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive. Method and systems for managing vapordistribution are described. Vapor distribution, such as distribution viaa vapor device, may be managed to provide an exact dosing of avaporizable material (e.g., nicotine, cannabis, herbal material, liquid,oil, etc.) according to user defined settings. A flavor and/or chemicalconcentration of a vapor may be defined by a user and distributed by thevapor device regardless of a user inhalation rate (e.g., a quantity ofvapor inhalations within a given timeframe, etc.) during a user vaporinhalation session. The flavor and/or chemical concentration of thevapor may be managed/changed periodically during the vapor inhalationsession according to user preferences. User preferences may be providedto the user device prior to use of the vapor device and/or in real-time,such as during use of the vapor device. In some cases, the userpreferences may be provided directly to the vapor device, such as via aninterface associated with the vapor device. In some cases, the userpreferences may be provided to and/or sent the vapor device, such as viaa computing device. To improve the ability to meter a precise dose of achemical in vapor, the vapor device may employ a power control schemethat can control the amount and duration of heat applied to avaporizable material.

Additional advantages will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows or may be learned by practice. The advantages will be realizedand attained by means of the elements and combinations particularlypointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both theforegoing general description and the following detailed description areexemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, nature, and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome more apparent from the detailed description set forth below whentaken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like referencecharacters are used to identify like elements correspondingly throughoutthe specification and drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a system for vapor distribution;

FIG. 2 shows an example vapor device;

FIG. 3 shows an example vapor device;

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method for vapor distribution;

FIG. 5 shows a system for vapor distribution.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present methods and systems are disclosed and described, itis to be understood that the methods and systems are not limited tospecific methods, specific components, or to particular implementations.It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for thepurpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended tobe limiting.

As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms“a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” oneparticular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When sucha range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the oneparticular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, whenvalues are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent“about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms anotherembodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each ofthe ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, andindependently of the other endpoint.

“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described eventor circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includesinstances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where itdoes not.

As used herein, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,” and the likeare intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being,a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable,a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a server and the server maybe a component. One or more components may reside within a processand/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on onecomputer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

As used herein, a “vapor” includes mixtures of a carrier gas or gaseousmixture (for example, air) with any one or more of a dissolved gas,suspended solid particles, or suspended liquid droplets, wherein asubstantial fraction of the particles or droplets if present arecharacterized by an average diameter of not greater than three microns.As used herein, an “aerosol” has the same meaning as “vapor,” except forrequiring the presence of at least one of particles or droplets. Asubstantial fraction means 10% or greater; however, it should beappreciated that higher fractions of small (<3 micron) particles ordroplets may be desirable, up to and including 100%. It should furtherbe appreciated that, to simulate smoke, average particle or droplet sizemay be less than three microns, for example, may be less than one micronwith particles or droplets distributed in the range of 0.01 to 1 micron.A vaporizer may include any device or assembly that produces a vapor oraerosol from a carrier gas or gaseous mixture and at least onevaporizable material. An aerosolizer is a species of vaporizer, and assuch is included in the meaning of vaporizer as used herein, exceptwhere specifically disclaimed.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the word“comprise” and variations of the word, such as “comprising” and“comprises,” means “including but not limited to,” and is not intendedto exclude, for example, other components, integers or steps.“Exemplary” means “an example of” and is not intended to convey anindication of a preferred or ideal embodiment. “Such as” is not used ina restrictive sense, but for explanatory purposes.

Disclosed are components that may be used to perform the disclosedmethods and systems. These and other components are disclosed herein,and it is understood that when combinations, subsets, interactions,groups, etc. of these components are disclosed that while specificreference of each various individual and collective combinations andpermutation of these may not be explicitly disclosed, each isspecifically contemplated and described herein, for all methods andsystems. This applies to all aspects of this application including, butnot limited to, steps in disclosed methods. Thus, if there are a varietyof additional steps that may be performed it is understood that each ofthese additional steps may be performed with any specific embodiment orcombination of embodiments of the disclosed methods.

Various aspects presented in terms of systems may comprise a number ofcomponents, modules, and the like. It is to be understood andappreciated that the various systems may include additional components,modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the components, modules,etc. discussed in connection with the figures. A combination of theseapproaches may also be used

The present methods and systems may be understood more readily byreference to the following detailed description of preferred embodimentsand the examples included therein and to the Figures and their previousand following description.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the methods andsystems may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software andhardware aspects. Furthermore, the methods and systems may take the formof a computer program product on a computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable program instructions (e.g., computer software)embodied in the storage medium. More particularly, the present methodsand systems may take the form of web-implemented computer software. Anysuitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized including harddisks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

Embodiments of the methods and systems are described below withreference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,systems, apparatuses and computer program products. It will beunderstood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, respectively, may be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may be loadedonto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus create a means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that may direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including computer-readableinstructions for implementing the function specified in the flowchartblock or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loadedonto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrationssupport combinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and programinstruction means for performing the specified functions. It will alsobe understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, may be implemented by special purposehardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions orsteps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In thefollowing description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofone or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that the variousaspects may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to facilitate describing these aspects.

Method and systems for managing vapor distribution are described. Vapordistribution, such as distribution via a vapor device, may be managed toprovide an exact dosing of a vaporizable material (e.g., nicotine,cannabis, herbal material, liquid, oil, etc.) according to user definedsettings. A flavor and/or chemical concentration of a vapor may bedefined by a user and distributed by the vapor device regardless of auser inhalation rate (e.g., a quantity of vapor inhalations within agiven timeframe, etc.) during a user vapor inhalation session. Theflavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor may be managed/changedperiodically during the vapor inhalation session according to userpreferences. User preferences may be based on one or more programs/plansfor reducing and/or eliminating substance dependency of a user, such asa nicotine or a cannabis dependency. User preferences may be provided tothe user device prior to use of the vapor device and/or in real-time,such as during use of the vapor device. In some cases, the userpreferences may be provided directly to the vapor device, such as via aninterface associated with the vapor device. In some cases, the userpreferences may be provided to and/or sent the vapor device, such as viaa computing device (e.g., a smart device, a user device, a mobiledevice, a server, etc.).

The vapor device may control the flavor and/or chemical concentration ofthe vapor by determining a mixture of vaporizable material based on userpreferences. The vapor device may comprise one or more self-containedvapor release (exhaust) elements that are each coupled to a respectivecontainer for storing a vaporizable material. Each container for storinga vaporizable material may be associated with a respective vaporizingelement (e.g., heater, etc.) used to vaporize the respective vaporizablematerial. Each vaporizing element may vaporize a respective vaporizablematerial, such as by heating the respective vaporizable material. Eachvaporizing element may vaporize the respective vaporizable materialaccording to a respective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which eachvaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor. Insome cases, the vapor device may control a percentage of a chemical(e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol,cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on micro-bursting information. Afirst container for storing a vaporizable material may comprise aflavored vaporizable material, such as a flavored glycerin additive. Asecond container for storing a vaporizable material may comprise aliquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percent liquid nicotine, liquidtetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquid cannabinol, liquidcannabigerol, etc.). The user may prefer/desire a vapor with a chemicalconcentration of five percent of the total chemical concentration. Thevapor device may receive the user preference, and use a micro-burstingprogram (or similar method) to cause the respective vaporizing elementto continuously heat the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavoredglycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the firstcontainer to produce a first vapor. The vapor device may use themicro-bursting program to cause the respective vaporizing element tointermittently heat the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within thesecond container to produce a second vapor. The intermittent heating ofthe liquid chemical may be based on a rate required to generate/producethe user preferred/desired vapor with a nicotine concentration of fivepercent. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined (e.g.,combined internal to the vapor device, combined external to the vapordevice, etc.) to produce the user preferred/desired vapor. In somecases, the vapor device may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g.,nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol,etc.) in vapor based on a temperature applied to a vaporizable materialby a vaporizing element. For example, the flavored vaporizable material(e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or withinthe first container may be heated at a higher temperature by therespective vaporizing element than the liquid chemical dispensed fromand/or within the second container. Based on the higher temperature, theflavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.)dispensed from and/or within the first container may produce a firstvapor that is greater in volume than a second vapor produced by theliquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the second container. Thefirst vapor and the second vapor may be combined to produce the userpreferred/desired vapor (e.g., vapor with a nicotine concentration offive percent, etc.). The vapor device may produce vapor with any flavorand/or chemical concentration.

FIG. 1 shows a system for managing vapor distribution. The system 100may include a vapor device 101. The vapor device 101 (e.g., electronicvapor device, e-cigarette, e-cigar, etc.) may comprise any suitablehousing for enclosing and protecting the various components disclosedherein. The vapor device 101 may comprise a processor 102. The processor102 may be, or may comprise, any suitable microprocessor ormicrocontroller, for example, a low-power application-specificcontroller (ASIC) and/or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) designedor programmed specifically for the task of controlling a device asdescribed herein, or a general purpose central processing unit (CPU),for example, one based on 80×86 architecture as designed by Intel™ orAMD™, or a system-on-a-chip as designed by ARM™. The processor 102 maybe coupled (e.g., communicatively, operatively, etc . . . ) to auxiliarydevices, components, and/or modules of the vapor device 101 using a busor other coupling.

The vapor device 101 may comprise a power supply 120. In an aspect, thepower supply 120 may be a sole power source providing power/energy tothe vapor device 101. In an aspect, the power supply 120 may compriseone or more batteries and/or other power storage devices (e.g.,capacitor) and/or a port for connecting to an external power supply. Forexample, an external power supply may supply power to the vapor device101 and a battery may store at least a portion of the supplied power.The one or more batteries may be rechargeable. The one or more batteriesmay comprise a lithium-ion battery (including thin film lithium ionbatteries), a lithium ion polymer battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, anickel metal hydride battery, a lead-acid battery, a CCell system, solarcells, combinations thereof, and the like. The power supply 120 mayprovide power/energy to the vapor device 101 by any suitable methodand/or technique. Power/energy supplied by the power supply 120 may beadjusted and/or managed by the vapor device (the processor 102) toensure that vaporizable materials are vaporized at a consistent,desired, preferred, and/or required vaporization rate. For example, thevapor device (the processor 102) may determine, based on one or moreuser preferences, a power output from the power supply 120 associatedwith vaporizing a vaporizable material at a particular vaporizationrate. The vapor device (the processor 102) may determine that thepower/energy output by the power supply 120 satisfies a threshold, suchas a threshold value of low and/or reduced power/energy output. Thevapor device (the processor 102) may adjust power/energy from the powersupply 120, based on the power output satisfying the threshold, tomaintain a vaporization rate.

The vapor device 101 may comprise a memory device 104. The memory device104 may be coupled to the processor 102. The memory device 104 maycomprise a random access memory (RAM) configured for storing programinstructions (e.g., user preferences, micro-bursting programs, etc.) anddata for execution or processing by the processor 102 during control ofthe vapor device 101. When the vapor device 101 is powered off or in aninactive state, program instructions and data may be stored in along-term memory, for example, a non-volatile magnetic optical, orelectronic memory storage device (not shown). Either or both of the RAMor the long-term memory may comprise a non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing program instructions that, when executed by the processor102, cause the vapor device 101 to perform all or part of one or moremethods and/or operations described herein. Program instructions may bewritten in any suitable high-level language, for example, C, C++, C# orthe Java™, and compiled to produce machine-language code for executionby the processor 102.

The vapor device 101 may comprise an input/output device 112 forproviding an interface to a user to interact with the vapor device 101.The input/output device 112 may be coupled to one or more of theprocessor 102, a vaporizer module 108, the network access device 106,and/or any other electronic component of the vapor device 101. Input maybe received from a user or another device and/or output may be providedto a user or another device via the input/output device 112. Theinput/output device 112 may comprise a user interface, such as agraphical user interface, and/or the like. The input/output device 112may receive user preference information. The input/output device 112 mayenable a user to lock, unlock, or partially unlock or lock, the vapordevice 101. The vapor device 101 may be transitioned from an idle andlocked state into an open state, such as by entering in apassword/passcode, a biometric input, and/or the like. The input/outputdevice 112 may display information to a user such as flavor and/orchemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol,cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of vapor produced by the vapor device101, an amount of vaporizable material remaining in a one or morecontainers of a container module 110, power remaining via the powersource 120, and/or the like.

The input/output device 112 and/or the processor 102 may receive andinterpret user preference information, commands, and/or other inputs,and/or interface with the other components of the vapor device 101 asrequired. In some cases the input/output device 112 and/or the processor102 may include and/or be associated with an application (softwareapplication, mobile application, etc.), code, and/or virtualinstructions that receive and interpret user preference information,commands, and/or other inputs, and/or interface with the othercomponents of the vapor device 101 as required. The user preferenceinformation may comprise one or more formulas/mixtures for vaporizablematerial and/or instructions to distribute/release vapor from the vapordevice 101, such as information used to manage flavor and/or chemical(e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol,cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of the vapor, and/or the like. Theuser interface may comprise a touchscreen interface and/or a biometricinterface. The input/output device 112 may provide controls and menuselections, and process commands and requests. The input/output device112 may include controls that allow the user to interact with and inputinformation and commands, such as user preferences for flavor and/orchemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol,cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of vapor produced by the vapor device101. User preferences for user preferences for flavor and/or chemicalconcentration may be based on one or more programs/plans for reducingand/or eliminating substance dependency of a user, such as a nicotine ora cannabis dependency. A program/plan for reducing and/or eliminatingsubstance dependency of a user may comprise regulated vapordistributions that alter a chemical concentration of a vapor based onhow much of a substance (e.g. nicotine, cannabis, etc.) may be used inany given time period, such as a max per week, per day, or perdraw/inhalation of vapor.

The input/output device 112 may comprise an interface port (not shown)such as a wired interface, for example a serial port, a Universal SerialBus (USB) port, an Ethernet port, or other suitable wired connection.The input/output device 112 may comprise a wireless interface (notshown), for example a transceiver using any suitable wireless protocol,for example Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth®, infrared, or other wirelessstandard. For example, the input/output device 112 may communicate withthe computing device 104 or any other device (e.g., a smart device, auser device, a mobile device, a server, etc.) via Bluetooth® such thatthe inputs and outputs of the computing device 104 or any other devicemay be used by the user to interface with the vapor device 101.

The input/output device 112 may comprise an audio user interface. Amicrophone may be configured to receive audio signals and relay theaudio signals to the input/output device 112. The audio user interfacemay be any interface that is responsive to voice or other audiocommands. The audio user interface may be configured to cause an action,activate a function, and/or the like, by the vapor device 101 (oranother device) based on a received voice (or other audio) command. Theaudio user interface may be deployed directly on the vapor device 101and/or via other electronic devices (e.g., the computing device 140, asmart device, a tablet, a laptop, a dedicated audio user interfacedevice, and the like). The audio user interface may be used to controlthe functionality of the vapor device 101. Such functionality maycomprise, but is not limited to, user preferences for flavor and/orchemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol,cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of vapor produced by the vapor device101.

The vapor device 101 may comprise a network access device 106 allowingthe vapor device 101 to be coupled to a computing device 140 and/or oneor more ancillary devices (not shown) such as via an access point (notshown) of a wireless telephone network, local area network, or othercoupling to a wide area network, for example, the Internet. In thatregard, the processor 102 may be configured to share data with thecomputing device 140 and/or one or more ancillary devices via thenetwork access device 106. The shared data may comprise, for example,user preferences (e.g., flavor information, chemical information,concentration information, etc.), usage data and/or operational data ofthe vapor device 101, a status of the vapor device 101, a status and/oroperating condition of one or more the components of the vapor device101, text to be used in a message, a product order, payment information,and/or any other data. Similarly, the processor 102 may be configured toreceive control instructions from the computing device 140 and/or one ormore ancillary devices via the network access device 106. For example, aconfiguration of the vapor device 101, an operation of the vapor device101, and/or other settings of the vapor device 101, may be controlled bythe computing device 140 and/or one or more ancillary devices via thenetwork access device 106.

The computing device 140 (e.g., a smart device, a user device, a server,etc.) may comprise may provide be used to provide information/data(e.g., user preferences, etc.) to and/or control operation of the vapordevice 101. In an aspect, the computing device 140 may be used as aprimary input/output of the vapor device 101. User preferencestransmitted to the vapor device 101 from the computing device 140 (orany other device) may comprise one or more formulas/mixtures forvaporizable material and/or instructions to release vapor, such asinformation used to manage flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine,tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.)concentration of the vapor, and/or the like.

The vapor device 101 may comprise a vaporizer module 108. The vaporizermodule 108 may comprise a plurality of vaporizers elements, such asmetal heating elements, ceramic heating elements, glass heatingelements, piezoelectric elements, ultrasonic elements, and/or the like.The vaporizer module 108 may be coupled to the container module 110.Each vaporizing element of the plurality of vaporizers elements may becoupled to a separate container of the container module 110. In somecases, a single vaporizing element may be coupled to one or morecontainers of the container module 110. Each container of the containermodule 110 may be configured to hold one or more vaporizable (ornon-vaporizable) materials. Each container of the container module 110may be made of any suitable structural material, such as, an organicpolymer, metal, ceramic, composite, or glass material.

Each container of the container module 110 may comprise and/or beassociated with an identifier, such as a content identifier. Thecontainer module 110 may comprise one or more sensors that detect and/ordetermine the presence and/or contents (one or more vaporizable and/ornon-vaporizable materials) of a container of the container module 110.The one or more sensors may comprise one or more tag/identifierscanners/readers, data reception terminals, physical componentreceptacles and/or analyzers, and/or the like suitable for determiningand/or identifying a container of the container module 110 based on arespective identifier, such as a content identifier.

A content identifier may be any identifier, token, character, string,label, classifier, sensor, quick response (QR) asset tag, near-fieldcommunication (NFC) tag, and/or the like, for differentiating contents(e.g., vaporizable material, non-vaporizable material, flavor content,liquid content, nicotine content, cannabis content (cannabis straininformation), chemical content, drug content, etc.) of a container ofthe container module 110 from contents of a another container of thecontainer module 110. A content identifier may identify and/or beassociated with information relating to a container of the containermodule 110, such as a manufacturer and/or distributor of contents withinthe respective container. A content identifier determined and/orreceived from a container of the container module 110 by the vapordevice 101 based on a sensor detection method, an identificationtransmittal method (e.g., via the network access device 106, etc.), ashort-range communication technique (e.g., BLUETOOTH, infraredcommunication, near-field, communication, etc.), and/or the like.

A content identifier may be a physical identifier, such as an identifierbased on a shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture,and/or the like of a respective container of the container module 110.In some instances, a shape, grove, and/or other physical attribute of acontainer of the container module 110 may be used as by the vapor device101 to determine the contents of the container based on the shape, thegrove, and/or the other physical attribute fitting, complementing,matching, and/or the like a shape, a grove, and/or other physicalattribute of a container receptacle (and/or sensor) of the vapor device101, such as a key and lock based system. A content identifier may beany identifier of contents within a container of the container module110.

Each vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 may receive one ormore vaporizable or non-vaporizable materials from a respectivecontainer of the container module 110 and heat the one or morevaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials until the one or morevaporizable (or non-vaporizable materials) achieve a vapor state. Insome cases, a single vaporizing element may receive one or morevaporizable or non-vaporizable materials from one or more containers ofthe container module 110 and heat the one or more vaporizable (ornon-vaporizable) materials until the one or more vaporizable (ornon-vaporizable materials) achieve a vapor state.

Vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials within containers of thecontainer module 110 may be released to a respective vaporizing element(or a single vaporizing element) of the vaporizer module 108 via arespective valve or another mechanism. In some cases, each container ofthe container module 110 may comprise a wick (not shown) through whichvaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials are drawn to the respectivevaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108. In some cases, eachcontainer of the container module 110 may be associated with a singlewick (not shown) via which vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materialsare drawn to the respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module108. Each container of the container module 110 may be made of anysuitable structural material, such as, an organic polymer, metal,ceramic, composite, or glass material. Vaporizable material may compriseone or more of, a Propylene Glycol (PG) based liquid, a VegetableGlycerin (VG) based liquid, a water based liquid, combinations thereof,and the like. Vaporizable material may comprise nicotine, cannabis,plant-based material, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD),cannabinol (CBN), an extract from duboisia hopwoodii, combinationsthereof, and the like. Vaporizable material may include any material.

The vapor device 101 may comprise an extraction element 122. Theextraction element 122 may be coupled to the processor 102 to receiveone or more control signals. The one or more control signals mayinstruct the extraction element 122 to withdraw specific amounts offluid (vaporizable material, etc.) from containers of the containermodule 110. The extraction element 122 may, in response to a controlsignal from the processor 102, withdraw select quantities of vaporizablematerial in order to create a customized mixture of different types ofvaporizable material and produce a vapor with a specific flavor and/orchemical concentration. Fluid (vaporizable material, etc.) withdrawnfrom containers of the container module 110 by the extraction element122 may be provided to a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108.

Each container of the container module 110 may be associated with arespective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 that is usedto vaporize the respective vaporizable material. Each vaporizing elementof the vaporizer module 108 may vaporize a respective vaporizablematerial, such as by heating the respective vaporizable material. Eachvaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 may vaporize therespective vaporizable material according to a respective vaporizationrate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.)to generate a respective vapor. In some cases, each container of thecontainer module 110 may be associated with a single vaporizing elementof the vaporizer module 108 that is used to vaporize the respectivevaporizable materials of each container. The vaporizing element mayvaporize each vaporizable material associated with each container of thecontainer module 110 according to a respective vaporization rate (e.g.,a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate arespective vapor.

Input from the input/output device 112 may be used by the processor 102to cause a respective vaporizing element (or single vaporizing element)of the vaporizer module 108 to vaporize one or more vaporizable ornon-vaporizable materials from containers of the container module 110.In some cases, a user may depress a button, causing a respectivevaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 to vaporize one or morevaporizable or non-vaporizable materials from containers of thecontainer module 110. In some cases, the processor 102 may determine avaporization rate, such as based on user preferences, on one or moreprograms/plans for reducing and/or eliminating substance dependency of auser, and/or the like. The vaporization rate may be an amount ofvaporizable material vaporized over time. A vaporization rate may bedetermined based on a vaporizable material. A vaporization rate may bedetermined for each vaporizable material of a plurality of vaporizablematerials. Vaporizable materials may be vaporized at a respectivevaporization rate and resulting vapors may be combined to produce avapor of a particular flavor and/or chemical concentration. Vaporizationrates may be used to determine an amount of each vaporizable material towithdraw from a container of the container module 110.

In some cases, the vapor device 101 (e.g., the processor 102) maycontrol a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine,tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) invapor based on micro-bursting information. A first container of thecontainer module 110 may comprise a flavored vaporizable material, suchas a flavored glycerin additive. A second container of the containermodule 110 may comprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percentliquid nicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquidcannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). A user may prefer/desire a vaporwith a nicotine concentration of five percent of the total chemicalconcentration of the vapor. The vapor device 101 may receive the userpreference (e.g., via the input/output device 112, from the computingdevice 140, etc.) and use a micro-bursting program (or similar method)to cause the respective vaporizing element (or a single vaporizingelement) of the vaporizer module 108 to continuously heat the flavoredvaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed(e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) from and/or withinthe first container of the container module 110 to produce a firstvapor. The processor 102 may use a micro-bursting program to cause therespective vaporizing element (or a single vaporizing element) of thevaporizer module 108 to intermittently heat the liquid chemicaldispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) fromand/or within the second container of the container module 110 toproduce a second vapor. The intermittent heating of the liquid chemicalcan be based on a rate required to generate/produce the userpreferred/desired vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent.The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined (e.g., combinedinternal to the vapor device 101, combined external to the vapor device101, etc.) to produce the user preferred/desired vapor. Vaporizablematerials, such as liquid flavors and/or chemicals, from separatecontainers (e.g., the first container and/or the second container of thecontainer module 110) may be separated by barrier, such as a thermalinsulated barrier, a heat guard, a shield, material, and/or the likewhen exposed to a vaporizing element so that heating and vaporization ofeach vaporizable material may be separately and/or independentlycontrolled.

In some cases, the vapor device 101 may control a percentage of achemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol,cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on a temperature applied to avaporizable material by a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module108. For example, the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavoredglycerin additive, etc.) dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extractionelement 122, etc.) from and/or within the first container of thecontainer module 110 may be heated at a higher temperature by therespective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 than theliquid chemical dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element122, etc.) from and/or within the second container of the containermodule 110. Based on the higher temperature, the flavored vaporizablematerial (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed (e.g.,withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) from and/or within thefirst container of the container module 110 may produce a first vaporthat is greater in volume than a second vapor produced by the liquidchemical dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.)from and/or within the second container of the container module 110. Thefirst vapor and the second vapor may be combined to produce the userpreferred/desired vapor (e.g., vapor with a nicotine concentration offive percent, etc.).

In some cases the first container of the container module 110 maycontain a mixture of flavored vegetable glycerin and cannabis and thesecond container of the container module 110 may contain flavoredvegetable glycerin with no cannabis. A user may desire to only inhalevapor from the cannabis mixture on a first draw/pull/inhalation (thecannabis mixture is not 100 percent cannabis, and mixtures withdifferent cannabis levels may be created and used), but then reduce theamount of the cannabis mixture in a subsequent draw/pull/inhalation to20 percent. The user may provide user preferences to the vapor device101 via the input/output device 112 and/or the computing device 140. Theprocessor 102, based on the user preferences, may cause the respectivevaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 to vaporize the mixtureof flavored vegetable glycerin and in the first container of thecontainer module 110 for the first draw/pull/inhalation without causingthe respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 tovaporize the flavored vegetable glycerin in the second container of thecontainer module 110. As such the first draw/pull/inhalation may onlyconsist of vapor from the first container of the container module 110.The processor 102 may then cause the respective vaporizing elements forthe first and second containers to heat the contents of the respectivecontainers at different temperatures (e.g., use different amounts ofpower, etc.) to obtain a vapor with twenty percent cannabisconcentration. More complex patterns, percentages, formulas, flavors,concentrations, and/or mixtures may be produced, such as byincorporating more containers of the container module 110 with differentcontents. The vapor device 101 may produce vapor with any flavor and/orchemical concentration.

The vapor device 101 may include a plurality of valves (not shown),wherein a respective one of the valves is interposed between eachvaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 and a correspondingoutlet of an outlet module 114. Each of the valves may be used tocontrol a flow rate of vapor through a respective outlet of the outletmodule 114. Managing the flow rate of vapor through an outlet may enableprecise control of a total particulate matter and/or chemicalconcentration of a vapor, such as a vapor inhaled by a user. Each outletof the outlet module 114 may be separated from another outlet of outletmodule 114 to allow respective vapors produced by each vaporizingelement of the vaporizer module 108 to exit the vapor device 101 forinhalation by a user. Each valve may be associated with a sensor thatdetects and or determines an amount of particulate and/or chemicalwithin a vapor and provides the information to the processor 102. Theprocessor 102 may adjust operations of the vapor device 101, such aspower/energy output by the power supply 120, a time and/or temperatureapplied to vaporizable material by the vaporizer module 108, an amountof vaporizable material extracted from a container of the containermodule 110, and/or the like based on the information from each valveassociated with an outlet of the outlet module 114.

In some cases, each of the plurality of valves may include a lumen ofadjustable effective diameter for controlling a rate of vapor flow therethrough. The assembly may include an actuator, for example a motor,configured to independently adjust respective ones of the valves undercontrol of the processor. The actuator may include a handle or the liketo permit manual valve adjustment by the user. The motor or actuator maybe coupled to a uniform flange or rotating spindle coupled to the valvesand configured for controlling the flow of vapor through each of thevalves. Each of the valves may be adjusted so that each outlet of theoutlet module 114 may accommodate the same (equal) rate of vapor flow,or different rates of vapor flow. The processor 102 may be configured todetermine settings for the respective ones of the valves each based onat least one of: a selected user preference or an amount of suctionapplied to an outlet of the outlet module 114.

Operations of the vapor device 101 (e.g., chemical dose management,power management, vaporizable material extraction and vaporization,etc.) may be performed in real-time, simultaneously, and/or based on anorder, such as an order required to produce a vapor with a specificchemical concentration.

Chemical Dose Management

The vapor device 101 may control an amount of total particulate matter(TPM) and/or chemical concentration (dose) of distributed vapor, such asvapor inhaled by a user. The processor 102 may integratemeasurements/readings associated with power/energy provided tovaporizing elements of the vaporizer module 108 by the power supply 120to determine/calculate a quantity of vapor produced by a vaporizablematerial. For example, a quantity of vapor produced by a vaporizablematerial may be based on equation 1:

Δm _(vap.cummulative)=Σ_(i=1) ^(i=n) a[P _(i) −b(T _(i) −T _(i-1))−cT_(i)]  (equation 1)

where Δm_(vap,cummulative) is a total mass of a vaporizable materialvaporized during sampling intervals i=1 to i=n, with each interval beingof a fixed time increment. Power supplied by the power supply 120 duringinterval i may be represented as P_(i); T_(i) is temperature readingfrom a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 for the intervali; T_(i-1) is temperature reading for an interval occurring immediatelybefore the current interval (i-1 immediately prior to interval i).

The values a, b, and c are constants. The values a, b, and c may be setbased on attributes of a known vaporization material. The values a, b,and c may reflect physical constants whose values can be determinedexperimentally and can vary depending on the vaporizable material used.For example, the constants a, b, and c can depend upon the latent heatand the specific heat of the material being vaporized. The constants canfurther depend upon the overall mass of the system that needs to beheated (such as the liquid material, the vaporizing element (e.g.,heater), and/or a wick or similar component used to transfer the liquidmaterial). These constants may be determined empirically or based ontheoretical values knowing the dimensions and material properties of thevaporizable material and components of the vapor device 101. In somecases, the empirical determination of (a, b and c) may be accomplishedby measuring power/energy (supplied by the power supply 120) andtemperature (supplied by the vaporizing module 108) over a series ofdraws/inhalations and measuring a cumulative mass of the vaporizablematerial lost (e.g., gravimetrically). The mass lost may be taken asbeing equal to total delivered mass of TPM (mg). Best values for a, b,and c may then determine by fitting equation 1 to experimental massdelivery, power and temperature data.

A total particulate matter (TPM) to active material (currently vaporizedmaterial) content can be correlated based on a composition of eachvaporizable material extracted from a container of the container module110. For example, for vaporizable liquid, that contains a percentage of20-25% chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol,cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) content may correlate to a TPM of vaporcontaining a chemical percentage of 20-25%. In some cases, it may bereasonable to assume total conversion (vaporization) of the vaporizablematerial. For example, for a liquid vaporizable material where theactive chemical is a cannabis extract containing 25% cannabidiol (CBD),then a TPM correlated to 25% CBD, means the TPM has the percentage ofthe chemical, (assuming total conversion (vaporization) of the chemical.

User preferences received by the vapor device 101 may allow the user topreset an amount of vaporizable material to be vaporized before the useris alerted, component/elements of the vapor device 101 are disabled(e.g., power/energy from the power supply 120 reduced/terminated, heatproduced by a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108reduced/terminated, etc.), and/or any other controlling logic isimplemented by the processor 102. In some cases, the vapor device 101may include an alert/alarm system that notifies a user when a presetamount of a vaporizable material is vaporized and/or a chemical dosageis received. The alert/alarm may include an audible alarm, a vibration,a message (e.g., notification via an application, text message, email,etc.), and/or the like. In some cases, the processor 102 may disable thevapor device 101 and/or components of the vapor device 101 when a presetamount of a vaporizable material is vaporized. In some cases, theprocessor, based on user preferences, may cause the vapor device 101 tovaporize a target amount of vaporizable material in a singledraw/inhalation. In some cases, the processor, based on userpreferences, may cause the vapor device 101 to vaporize a target amountof vaporizable material in a plurality of draws/inhalations.

Power Management

The vapor device 101 may control power/energy output by the power supply120. The vapor device 101 may use the processor 102 to controlpower/energy output by the power supply 120, such as an amount ofpower/energy supplied by the power supply 120 to a vaporizing element ofthe vaporizer module 108. The vapor device 101 may use the processor 102to control the total power/energy output by the power supply 120, suchpower/energy is supplied to a vaporizing element of the vaporizingmodule 108 to vaporize a vaporizable material according to userpreferences. Controlling the power/energy output by the power supply mayprotect the power source and prevent issues common to over exerted powersources, such as fires, explosions, inconsistent power/energygeneration, device errors, and/or the like.

The vapor device 101 may control of the power/energy supplied to avaporizing element used to vaporize a vaporizable material to provide apredictable and/or consistent dose of a chemical to a user via a vapor.The processor 102 may control power/energy output by the power supply120 so that a total power/energy output of the power supply 120 isdivided according to a ratio associated with power/energy requirementsof each vaporizing element of the vaporizing module 108 to provide auser with a vapor with a specific chemical (e.g., nicotine,tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.)concentration. For example, a user may provide user preferences to thevapor device 101 that indicate that the user desires to inhale a vaporwith a specific chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol,cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration. To produce avapor with the specific chemical concentration, a first vaporizingelement of the vaporizing module 108 may require 90% of the totalpower/energy output of the power supply 120 to vaporize a liquidchemical (e.g., vaporizable material, etc.), and a second vaporizingelement of the vaporizing module 108 may require 70% of the totalpower/energy output of the power supply 120 to vaporize a liquid flavor(e.g., vaporizable material, etc.), resulting in need for 160% of thetotal power/energy output of the power supply 120. However, the powersupply 120 may be unable to operate at and/or supply greater than 100%of its available power/energy. To accommodate, the processor 102 maycause the power supply 120 to deregulate and/or reduce its totalpower/energy supplied to both vaporizing elements (e.g., the first andsecond vaporizing elements) to a percentage of its total availablepower/energy, such as deregulating and/or reducing its totalpower/energy supplied to both vaporizing elements to 80% of its totalavailable power/energy. The deregulated and/or reduced power/energyoutput (e.g., 80% total power/energy output) may be divided between thevaporizing elements based on a ratio of the power/energy requirements ofeach vaporizing element. For example, the first vaporizing element mayreceive a reduced percentage of the 90% of the total power/energy outputof the power supply 120 required to vaporize the liquid chemical (e.g.,vaporizable material, etc.), such as 70% of the total power/energyoutput of the power supply 120. The second vaporizing element may areduced percentage of the 70% of the total power/energy output of thepower supply 120 required to vaporize the liquid flavor (e.g.,vaporizable material, etc.), such as 30% of the total power/energyoutput of the power supply 120. As another example, the first vaporizingelement may receive 80% of the 90% of the total power/energy output ofthe power supply 120 required to vaporize the liquid chemical (e.g.,vaporizable material, etc.), and the second vaporizing element mayreceive 80% of the 70% of the total power/energy output of the powersupply 120 required to vaporize the liquid flavor (e.g., vaporizablematerial, etc.). In some cases, percentages of the total power/energyoutput of the power supply 120 may be applied to respective vaporizingelements at different time intervals so that power/energy output of thepower supply 120 may be maintained/regulated at a defined percentage ofavailable power/energy of the power supply 120.

In instances where the power supply 120 is unable to providepower/energy needed to vaporize one or more vaporizable materials toproduce a vapor with a specific chemical content, the vapor device 101notify a user. The user may be notified via an application, a message(e.g., an email message, a text message, etc.), audible alarm, avibration, and/or the like.

In some cases, power/energy supplied by the power supply 120 to avaporizing element vaporizing a chemical (e.g., nicotine,tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) maybe prioritized over power/energy supplied by the power supply 120 to avaporizing element vaporizing a liquid flavor to ensure that thechemical is vaporized at a consistent vaporization rate required toproduce a vapor with a specific chemical concentration.

FIG. 2 illustrates a vapor device 200 (e.g., the vapor device 101,electronic vapor device, etc.). The vapor device 200 may control theflavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor by determining amixture of vaporizable material based on user preferences. Userpreferences may define a flavor and/or chemical concentration of a vaporgenerated and/or released by the vapor device 200. The flavor and/orchemical concentration of the vapor may be managed/changed periodicallyduring a vapor inhalation session according to the user preferences. Insome cases, the user preferences may be provided directly to the vapordevice, such as via an interface (not shown) associated with the vapordevice 200. In some cases, the user preferences may be received from adevice, such as a mobile device, smart device, and/or computing device(e.g., the computing device 140, etc.) prior to use of the vapor device200 and/or in real-time, such as during use of the vapor device 200.

The vapor device 200 may comprise a power supply 208 (e.g. the powersupply 120, etc.). The power supply 208 may be a sole power sourceproviding power/energy to the vapor device 200. In some cases, the powersupply 208 may comprise one or more batteries and/or other power storagedevices (e.g., capacitor) and/or a port for connecting to an externalpower supply. For example, an external power supply may supply power tothe vapor device 200 and a battery may store at least a portion of thesupplied power. The one or more batteries may be rechargeable. The oneor more batteries may comprise a lithium-ion battery (including thinfilm lithium ion batteries), a lithium ion polymer battery, anickel-cadmium battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lead-acidbattery, a CCell system, solar cells, combinations thereof, and thelike. The power supply 208 may provide power/energy to the vapor device200 by any suitable method and/or technique.

The vapor device 200 may comprise self-contained vapor release outlets202 a and 202 b that are each coupled to a respective container 203 aand 203 b for storing a vaporizable material (e.g., nicotine, cannabis,herbal material, liquid, oil, etc.). The containers 203 a and 203 b maybe retractable and/or removable from the vapor device 200. Thecontainers 203 a and 203 b may comprise and/or be associated with anidentifier such as a content identifier. A content identifier may be anyidentifier, token, character, string, label, classifier, quick response(QR) asset tag, near-field communication (NFC) tag, and/or the like, fordifferentiating contents (e.g., vaporizable material, non-vaporizablematerial, flavor content, liquid content, nicotine content, cannabiscontent (cannabis strain information), chemical content, drug content,etc.) of the containers 203 a and 203 b from contents of a anothercontainer of the vapor device 200. The vapor device 200 may comprise anyquantity of containers and/or related components. A content identifiermay be information relating to a container of the vapor device 200, suchas a manufacturer and/or distributor of contents within the respectivecontainer. A content identifier may be based on a shape, marking,groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of acontainer of the vapor device 200. The vapor device 200 may use theshape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or thelike of the container to determine the contents of the container basedon a the shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture,and/or the like fitting, complementing, matching, and/or the like ashape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or thelike of a container receptacle (and/or sensor) of the vapor device 200,such as a key and lock based system. A content identifier may be anyidentifier of contents within a container of the vapor device 200.

The vapor device 200 may comprise an extraction element 204. Theextraction element 204 may be coupled to the containers 203 a and 203 b.The extraction element 204 may, in response to a control signal from aprocessor 205 (based on the user preferences) the extraction element 204may withdraw select quantities of vaporizable material in order tocreate a customized mixture of different types of vaporizable materialand/or a customized mixture of vaporizable material having varyingamounts of a specific substance, such as nicotine, cannabis, and/or thelike. The extraction element 204 may withdraw vaporizable material fromthe containers 203 a and 203 b via a respective wick 206 a and 206 b. Insome cases, the wick 206 a and the wick 206 b may be a single wick viawhich vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials are withdrawn from thecontainers 203 a and 203 b. In some cases, the vapor device 200 may notcomprise wicks and vaporizable material may be withdrawn from thecontainers 203 a and 203 b via any suitable method, mode, or means.

Each container 203 a and 203 b be coupled to and/or associated with arespective vaporizing element 207 a and 207 b (e.g., heater, etc.) usedto vaporize the respective vaporizable material withdrawn from thecontainers 203 a and 203 b. The vaporizing elements 207 a and 207 b mayvaporize a respective vaporizable material withdrawn from the containers203 a and 203 b, such as by heating the respective vaporizable material.The vaporizing elements 207 a and 207 b may each vaporize the respectivevaporizable material according to a respective vaporization rate (e.g.,a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate arespective vapor. The vapor device 200 may use the processor 205 tocontrol operations of the extraction element 204, the vaporizingelements 207 a and 207 b, and/or any related component of the vapordevice 200 and meter a precise dose of a chemical in vapor form forinhalation from the vapor device 200.

The processor 205 may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g.,nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol,etc.) in vapor based on micro-bursting information (according to userpreferences). The container 203 a may comprise a flavored vaporizablematerial, such as a flavored glycerin additive. The container 203 b maycomprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percent liquidnicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquidcannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). A user may prefer/desire a vaporwith a nicotine concentration of five percent of the total chemicalconcentration. The vapor device 200 may receive the user preference, andthe processor 205 may use a micro-bursting program (or similar method)to cause the vaporizing element 207 a to continuously heat the flavoredvaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensedfrom and/or within the container 203 a to produce a first vapor. Theprocessor 205 may use the micro-bursting program to cause the respectivevaporizing element 207 b to intermittently heat the liquid chemicaldispensed from and/or within the container 203 b to produce a secondvapor. The flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerinadditive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the container 203 a and theliquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the container 203 b may beseparated by barrier (not shown), such as a thermal insulated barrier, aheat guard, a shield, material, and/or the like when exposed to thevaporizing elements 207 a and 207 b so that heating and vaporization ofthe respective vaporizable materials may be separately and/orindependently controlled.

The intermittent heating of the liquid chemical may be based on a raterequired to generate/produce the user preferred/desired vapor with achemical concentration of five percent. The first vapor may be expelledand/or inhaled through the outlet 202 a and the second vapor may beexpelled and/or inhaled through the outlet 202 b. The first vapor andthe second vapor may be combined (e.g., combined external to theelectronic vapor device, etc.) to produce the user preferred/desiredvapor output.

FIG. 3 illustrates a vapor device 300 (e.g., the vapor device 101,electronic vapor device, etc.). The vapor device 300 may control theflavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor by determining amixture of vaporizable material based on user preferences. Userpreferences may define a flavor and/or chemical concentration of a vaporgenerated and/or released by the vapor device 300. The flavor and/orchemical concentration of the vapor may be managed/changed periodicallyduring a vapor inhalation session according to the user preferences. Insome cases, the user preferences may be provided directly to the vapordevice, such as via an interface (not shown) associated with the vapordevice 300. In some cases, the user preferences may be received from adevice, such as a mobile device, smart device, and/or computing device(e.g., the computing device 140, etc.) prior to use of the vapor device200 and/or in real-time, such as during use of the vapor device 300.

The vapor device 300 may comprise a power supply 308 (e.g. the powersupply 120, etc.). The power supply 308 may be a sole power sourceproviding power/energy to the vapor device 200. In some cases, the powersupply 308 may comprise one or more batteries and/or other power storagedevices (e.g., capacitor) and/or a port for connecting to an externalpower supply. For example, an external power supply may supply power tothe vapor device 300 and a battery may store at least a portion of thesupplied power. The one or more batteries may be rechargeable. The oneor more batteries may comprise a lithium-ion battery (including thinfilm lithium ion batteries), a lithium ion polymer battery, anickel-cadmium battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lead-acidbattery, a CCell system, solar cells, combinations thereof, and thelike. The power supply 308 may provide power/energy to the vapor device300 by any suitable method and/or technique.

The vapor device 300 may comprise self-contained vapor release outlets302 a and 302 b that are each coupled to a respective container 303 aand 303 b for storing a vaporizable material (e.g., nicotine, cannabis,herbal material, liquid, oil, etc.). The containers 303 a and 303 b maybe retractable and/or removable from the vapor device 300. Thecontainers 303 a and 303 b may comprise and/or be associated with anidentifier such as a content identifier. A content identifier may be anyidentifier, token, character, string, label, classifier, quick response(QR) asset tag, near-field communication (NFC) tag, and/or the like, fordifferentiating contents (e.g., vaporizable material, non-vaporizablematerial, flavor content, liquid content, nicotine content, cannabiscontent (cannabis strain information), chemical content, drug content,etc.) of the containers 303 a and 303 b from contents of a anothercontainer of the vapor device 300. The vapor device 300 may comprise anyquantity of containers and/or related components. A content identifiermay be information relating to a container of the vapor device 300, suchas a manufacturer and/or distributor of contents within the respectivecontainer. A content identifier may be based on a shape, marking,groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of acontainer of the vapor device 300. The vapor device 300 may use theshape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or thelike of the container to determine the contents of the container basedon a the shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture,and/or the like fitting, complementing, matching, and/or the like ashape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or thelike of a container receptacle (and/or sensor) of the vapor device 300,such as a key and lock based system. A content identifier may be anyidentifier of contents within a container of the vapor device 300.

The vapor device 300 may comprise an extraction element 304. Theextraction element 304 may be coupled to the containers 303 a and 303 b.The extraction element 304 may, in response to a control signal from aprocessor 305 (based on the user preferences) the extraction element 304may withdraw select quantities of vaporizable material in order tocreate a customized mixture of different types of vaporizable materialand/or a customized mixture of vaporizable material having varyingamounts of a specific substance, such as nicotine, cannabis, and/or thelike. The extraction element 304 may withdraw vaporizable material fromthe containers 303 a and 303 b via a respective wick 306 a and 306 b. Insome cases, the wick 306 a and the wick 306 b may be a single wick viawhich vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials are withdrawn from thecontainers 303 a and 303 b. In some cases, the vapor device 300 may notcomprise wicks and vaporizable material may be withdrawn from thecontainers 303 a and 303 b via any suitable method, mode, or means.

Each container 303 a and 303 b be coupled to and/or associated with avaporizing element 307 (e.g., heater, etc.) used to vaporize therespective vaporizable material withdrawn from the containers 303 a and303 b. The vaporizing element 307 may vaporize a respective vaporizablematerial withdrawn from the containers 303 a and 303 b, such as byheating the respective vaporizable material. The vaporizing element 307may vaporize the respective vaporizable material according to arespective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizablematerial is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor, such as afirst vapor and a second vapor. The vapor device 300 may use theprocessor 305 to control operations of the extraction element 304, thevaporizing element 307, and/or any related component of the vapor device300 and meter a precise dose of a chemical in vapor form for inhalationfrom the vapor device 300.

The processor 305 may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g.,nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol,etc.) in vapor based on micro-bursting information (according to userpreferences). The container 303 a may comprise a flavored vaporizablematerial, such as a flavored glycerin additive. The container 303 b maycomprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percent liquidnicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquidcannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). A user may prefer/desire a vaporwith a nicotine concentration of five percent of the total chemicalconcentration. The vapor device 300 may receive the user preference, andthe processor 305 may use a micro-bursting program (or similar method)to cause the vaporizing element 307 to continuously heat the flavoredvaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensedfrom and/or within the container 303 a to produce a first vapor. Theprocessor 305 may use the micro-bursting program to cause the vaporizingelement 307 to intermittently heat the liquid chemical dispensed fromand/or within the container 303 b to produce a second vapor. Theflavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.)dispensed from and/or within the container 303 a and the liquid chemicaldispensed from and/or within the container 303 b may be separated bybarrier (not shown), such as a thermal insulated barrier, a heat guard,a shield, material, and/or the like when exposed to the vaporizingelement 307 so that heating and vaporization of the respectivevaporizable materials may be separately and/or independently controlled.

The intermittent heating of the liquid chemical may be based on a raterequired to generate/produce the user preferred/desired vapor with anicotine concentration of five percent. The first vapor may be expelledinto a first chamber of a mouthpiece 309 and the second vapor may beexpelled into a second chamber of a mouthpiece 309. The first vapor andthe second vapor may be combined, such as combined external to the vapordevice in a mouth of a user, to produce the user preferred/desired vaporoutput.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart 400 of a method for vapor distribution. At 410, avapor device (e.g., electronic vapor device, the vapor device 101, thevapor device 200, etc.) may receive user preferences. The userpreferences may be based on one or more programs/plans for reducingand/or eliminating substance dependency of a user, such as a nicotine ora cannabis dependency. The user preferences may be based on adesired/preferred vapor with a particular flavor and/or chemical (e.g.,nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol,etc.) concentration. The user preferences may be provided to the userdevice prior to use of the vapor device and/or in real-time, such asduring use of the vapor device. In some cases, the user preferences maybe provided directly to the vapor device, such as via an interfaceassociated with the vapor device. In some cases, the user preferencesmay be provided to and/or sent the vapor device, such as via a computingdevice (e.g., a smart device, a user device, a mobile device, a server,etc.). The vapor device may control the flavor and/or chemicalconcentration of the vapor by determining a mixture of vaporizablematerial based on the user preferences.

At 420, a first vaporization rate and a second vaporization rate may bedetermined, such as by a processor of the vapor device. The vapor devicemay control the flavor and/or chemical concentration of vapor bydetermining a vaporization rate for a vaporizable material to produce avapor with a desired flavor and/or chemical concentration. The vapordevice may comprise one or more containers for storing a vaporizablematerial. The first vaporization rate may be based on a temperatureand/or time required to vaporize a vaporizable material from a firstcontainer of the vapor device. The second vaporization rate may be basedon a temperature and/or time required to vaporize a vaporizable materialfrom a second container of the vapor device.

At 430, a first vaporizable material may be vaporized. The firstvaporizable material may be vaporized based on the first vaporizationrate. At 440 a second vaporizable material may be vaporized. The secondvaporizable material may be vaporized based on the second vaporizationrate.

Each vaporizing element may vaporize a respective vaporizable material,such as by heating the respective vaporizable material. Each vaporizingelement may vaporize the respective vaporizable material according to arespective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizablematerial is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor. In some cases,the vapor device may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine,tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) invapor based on micro-bursting information.

The first container of the vapor device may comprise a flavoredvaporizable material, such as a flavored glycerin additive, and thesecond container may comprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100percent liquid nicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquidcannabidiol, liquid cannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). The user mayprefer/desire a vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent ofthe total chemical concentration. The vapor device may receive the userpreference, and use a micro-bursting program (or similar method) tocause the respective vaporizing element to continuously heat theflavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.)dispensed from and/or within the first container to produce a firstvapor. The vapor device may use the micro-bursting program to cause therespective vaporizing element to intermittently heat the liquid chemicaldispensed from and/or within the second container to produce a secondvapor. The intermittent heating of the liquid chemical may be based on arate required to generate/produce the user preferred/desired vapor witha nicotine concentration of five percent. The first vapor and the secondvapor may be combined (e.g., combined internal to the vapor device,combined external to the vapor device, etc.) to produce the userpreferred/desired vapor.

In some cases, the vapor device may control a percentage of a chemical(e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol,cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on a temperature applied to avaporizable material by a vaporizing element. For example, the flavoredvaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensedfrom and/or within the first container may be heated at a highertemperature by the respective vaporizing element than the liquidchemical dispensed from and/or within the second container. Based on thehigher temperature, the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavoredglycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the firstcontainer may produce a first vapor that is greater in volume than asecond vapor produced by the liquid chemical dispensed from and/orwithin the second container. The first vapor and the second vapor may becombined to produce the user preferred/desired vapor (e.g., vapor with anicotine concentration of five percent, etc.). The vapor device mayproduce vapor with any flavor and/or chemical concentration.

At 450, a first vapor may exit the vapor device from a first port and asecond vapor may exit the vapor device from a second port such as by auser inhaling the first vapor and the second vapor from the vapordevice.

FIG. 5 shows a system 500 for vapor distribution. The vapor device 101,the computing device 140, the vapor device 200, and the vapor device 300may be a computer 501 as shown in FIG. 5.

The computer 501 may be one or more processors 503, a system memory 512,and a bus 513 that couples various components of the computer 501 havingthe one or more processors 503 to the system memory 512. In the case ofmultiple processors 503, the computer 501 may utilize parallelcomputing.

The bus 513 may be one or more of several possible types of busstructures, such as a memory bus, memory controller, a peripheral bus,an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any ofa variety of bus architectures.

The computer 501 may operate on and/or be a variety of computer readablemedia (e.g., non-transitory). Computer readable media may be anyavailable media that is accessible by the computer 501 and may benon-transitory, volatile and/or non-volatile media, removable andnon-removable media. The system memory 512 has computer readable mediain the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM),and/or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM). The systemmemory 512 may store data such as user preferences 507 and/or programmodules such as operating system 505 and vaporization software 506 thatare accessible to and/or are operated on by the one or more processors503.

The computer 501 may also be other removable/non-removable,volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. The mass storage device504 may provide non-volatile storage of computer code, computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for thecomputer 501. The mass storage device 504 may be a hard disk, aremovable magnetic disk, a removable optical disk, magnetic cassettes orother magnetic storage devices, flash memory cards, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, random access memories(RAM), read only memories (ROM), electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), and the like.

Any number of program modules may be stored on the mass storage device504. An operating system 505 and vaporization software 506 may be storedon the mass storage device 504. One or more of the operating system 505and vaporization software 506 (or some combination thereof) may beprogram modules and the content software 506. User preferences 507 mayalso be stored on the mass storage device 504. User preferences 507 maybe stored in any of one or more databases known in the art. Thedatabases may be centralized or distributed across multiple locationswithin the network 515.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer 501 via aninput device (not shown). Such input devices be, but are not limited to,a keyboard, pointing device (e.g., a computer mouse, remote control), amicrophone, a joystick, a scanner, tactile input devices such as gloves,and other body coverings, motion sensor, and the like These and otherinput devices may be connected to the one or more processors 503 via ahuman machine interface 502 that is coupled to the bus 513, but may beconnected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallelport, game port, an IEEE 1394 Port (also known as a Firewire port), aserial port, network adapter 508, and/or a universal serial bus (USB).

A display device 511 may also be connected to the bus 513 via aninterface, such as a display adapter 509. It is contemplated that thecomputer 501 may have more than one display adapter 509 and the computer501 may have more than one display device 511. A display device 511 maybe a monitor, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), light emitting diode(LED) display, television, smart lens, smart glass, and/or a projector.In addition to the display device 511, other output peripheral devicesmay be components such as speakers (not shown) and a printer (not shown)which may be connected to the computer 501 via Input/Output Interface510. Any step and/or result of the methods may be output (or caused tobe output) in any form to an output device. Such output may be any formof visual representation, including, but not limited to, textual,graphical, animation, audio, tactile, and the like. The display 511 andcomputer 501 may be part of one device, or separate devices.

The computer 501 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computing devices 514 a,b,c. A remotecomputing device 514 a,b,c may be a personal computer, computing station(e.g., workstation), portable computer (e.g., laptop, mobile phone,tablet device), smart device (e.g., smartphone, smart watch, activitytracker, smart apparel, smart accessory), security and/or monitoringdevice, a server, a router, a network computer, a peer device, edgedevice or other common network node, and so on. Logical connectionsbetween the computer 501 and a remote computing device 514 a,b,c may bemade via a network 515, such as a local area network (LAN) and/or ageneral wide area network (WAN). Such network connections may be througha network adapter 508. A network adapter 508 may be implemented in bothwired and wireless environments. Such networking environments areconventional and commonplace in dwellings, offices, enterprise-widecomputer networks, intranets, and the Internet.

Application programs and other executable program components such as theoperating system 505 are shown herein as discrete blocks, although it isrecognized that such programs and components may reside at various timesin different storage components of the computing device 501, and areexecuted by the one or more processors 503 of the computer 501. Animplementation of vaporization software 506 may be stored on or sentacross some form of computer readable media. Any of the disclosedmethods may be performed by processor-executable instructions embodiedon computer readable media.

While specific configurations have been described, it is not intendedthat the scope be limited to the particular configurations set forth, asthe configurations herein are intended in all respects to be possibleconfigurations rather than restrictive.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that anymethod set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps beperformed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim doesnot actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is nototherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that thesteps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended thatan order be inferred, in any respect. This holds for any possiblenon-express basis for interpretation, including: matters of logic withrespect to arrangement of steps or operational flow; plain meaningderived from grammatical organization or punctuation; the number or typeof configurations described in the specification.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations may be made without departing from thescope or spirit. Other configurations will be apparent to those skilledin the art from consideration of the specification and practicedescribed herein. It is intended that the specification and describedconfigurations be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope andspirit being indicated by the following claims.

1. A method comprising: receiving one or more user preferences;determining, based on the one or more user preferences, a firstvaporization rate and a second vaporization rate; vaporizing, based onthe first vaporization rate, a first vaporizable material; vaporizing,based on the second vaporization rate, a second vaporizable material;and causing, based on vaporizing the first vaporizable material, a firstvapor to exit a first port, and based on vaporizing the secondvaporizable material, a second vapor to exit a second port.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein vaporizing the first vaporizable materialcomprises causing, based on the first vaporization rate, a quantity ofthe first vaporizable material to be exposed to a first heating element,wherein vaporizing the second vaporizable material comprises causing,based on the second vaporization rate, a quantity of the secondvaporizable material to be exposed to a second heating element.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein determining the first vaporization rate andthe second vaporization rate comprises: determining, based on the one ormore user preferences and one or more container identifiers, a pluralityof vaporizable materials; and determining, based on a vaporizablematerial of plurality of vaporizable materials, the first vaporizationrate, and based on at least two vaporizable materials of the pluralityof vaporizable materials, the second vaporization rate.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising adjusting, based on an additional one ormore user preferences, at least one of the first vaporization rate orthe second vaporization rate.
 5. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: determining, based on the one or more user preferences, apower output associated one or more of the first vaporization rate orthe second vaporization rate; determining that the power outputsatisfies a threshold; and adjusting, based on the power outputsatisfying the threshold, at least one of the first vaporization rateand the second vaporization rate.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thepower output is based on a temperature associated with vaporizing one ormore of the first vaporizable material at the first vaporization rate,or the second vaporizable material at the second vaporization rate. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first vaporization rateand the second vaporization rate comprises: determining, based on theone or more user preferences, a formula for a mixed vapor; anddetermining, based on the formula, the first vaporization rate and thesecond vaporization rate.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving theone or more user preferences comprises receiving the one or more userpreferences from one or more of a smart device, mobile device, or aserver.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the one or more userpreferences comprises receiving the one or more user preferences via auser interface.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the firstvapor to exit the first port, and the second vapor to exit the secondport is based on a user inhaling the first vapor and the second vapor.11. An apparatus comprising: a power source; one or more containers; oneor more heating elements; at least two ports; one or more processors;and memory storing processor executable instructions that, when executedby the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to: receive one ormore user preferences; determine, based on the one or more userpreferences, a first vaporization rate and a second vaporization rate;cause, based on the first vaporization rate and a first heating elementof the one or more heating elements, a first vaporizable material withina first container of the one or more liquid containers to produce afirst vapor; cause, based on the second vaporization rate and a secondheating element of the one or more heating elements, a secondvaporizable material within a second container of the one or more liquidcontainers to produce a second vapor; and cause, the first vapor to exita first port of the at least two ports, and the second vapor to exit asecond port of the at least two ports.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause the firstvaporizable material to produce the first vapor further compriseprocessor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the apparatus to expose a quantity of the firstvaporizable material to the first heating element, wherein the processorexecutable instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the apparatus to cause the second vaporizable materialto produce the second vapor further comprise processor executableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe apparatus to expose a quantity of the second vaporizable material tothe second heating element.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein theprocessor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the apparatus to determine the first vaporization rateand the second vaporization rate further comprise processor executableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe apparatus to: determine, based on the one or more user preferencesand one or more container identifiers associated with the one or morecontainers, a plurality of vaporizable materials; and determine, basedon a vaporizable material of plurality of vaporizable materials, thefirst vaporization rate, and based on at least two vaporizable materialsof the plurality of vaporizable materials, the second vaporization rate.14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executableinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further causethe apparatus to, adjust based on an additional one or more userpreferences, at least one of the first vaporization rate or the secondvaporization rate.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the processorexecutable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors,further cause the apparatus to: determine, based on the one or more userpreferences, a power output from the power source associated one or moreof the first vaporization rate or the second vaporization rate;determine that the power output satisfies a threshold; and adjust, basedon the power output satisfying the threshold, at least one of the firstvaporization rate and the second vaporization rate.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 15, wherein the power output is based on a temperature associatedwith vaporizing one or more of the first vaporizable material at thefirst vaporization rate, or the second vaporizable material at thesecond vaporization rate.
 17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein theprocessor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the apparatus to determine the first vaporization rateand the second vaporization rate further comprise processor executableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe apparatus to: determine, based on the one or more user preferences,a formula for a mixed vapor; and determine, based on the formula, thefirst vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executable instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatusto receive the one or more user preferences further comprise processorexecutable instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the apparatus to receive the one or more userpreferences from one or more of a smart device, mobile device, or aserver.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe apparatus to receive the one or more user preferences furthercomprise processor executable instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the apparatus to receive the one or moreuser preferences via a user interface.
 20. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause, the first vapor toexit the first port, and the second vapor to exit the second portfurther comprise processor executable instructions that, when executedby the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause, based on auser inhaling the first vapor and the second vapor, the first vapor toexit the first port, and the second vapor to exit the second port.